Missouri – Students in Missouri are making little but noticeable progress on statewide standardized examinations, but their results are still lower than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted learning.
On Tuesday, state education officials published the most recent findings of the Missouri Assessment Program. They said that both English language arts and math scores had gone up. Karla Eslinger, the Commissioner of Education, told the State Board of Education that she was happy with the rising trend but that the state still has a long way to go.
“Now we are seeing an uptick. It takes a lot to see even a percent of an uptick,” she told the board, per a report by the Missouri Independent. “Are we where we need to be? Absolutely not.” She credited the gains to ongoing efforts but cautioned that overall performance still lags behind 2019 levels.
Before the pandemic began, 49% of students were competent or advanced in English language arts. Now, that number is 44%. The math scores were better: 44% of students were proficient or advanced, up from 41% in 2019, and fewer students scored in the lowest “below basic” group.
Even with these changes, there is still a big discrepancy in achievement. Black, Hispanic, English learners, students from low-income families, or students with personalized education plans scored proficient or advanced at less than half the rate of their peers. Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, a member of the board, said that the results show that we need to look more closely at what is causing growth and where stronger actions are needed.
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The board also talked about persistent absence as a major obstacle to getting improved results. Eslinger said that some districts have attendance rates below 50%, which is not acceptable. She indicated that her top goals for promoting overall achievement are getting more people to come to school and making sure everyone can read and write well.
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Teachers were also unhappy with how slowly the existing assessment system gives feedback. The MAP test is given once a year, so the results show how well students did in the past instead of helping teachers plan lessons in real time. A lot of school officials want benchmark tests that help teachers see how their students are doing right away.
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That change is already on the way. The U.S. Department of Education’s Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority Program will let Missouri test a new way of doing assessments starting in the 2025–26 school year. The “Success Ready Student Assessment” will give instructors and students faster, more useful feedback by offering them at least three checkpoints throughout the year in certain grades and courses.
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“It just gives us a lot more information,” Eslinger said. “It is so much better for our kids to be able to have that opportunity to really see what it is that they’ve learned and what they need to learn next.”
